


Just a Friendly Wager

by miss_aligned



Category: Mass Effect
Genre: F/M, Fluff, Mass Effect 1, One Shot
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-05-04
Updated: 2016-05-04
Packaged: 2018-06-06 07:13:13
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,424
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6744610
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/miss_aligned/pseuds/miss_aligned
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>A little chat between friends leaves one party shocked by a change of subjects. She comes to realize that she is apparently the only one on the entire ship that hasn't openly discussed the issue.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Just a Friendly Wager

Shepard breathed a sigh of relief as she pulled her helmet free and shook her hair loose after it had been pressed tightly against her head for so long. Setting the helmet aside, she set to work on removing her gloves and releasing the rest of her armor. She couldn’t help but let her gaze flicker to Kaidan, who was also removing his gear. She was careful to avoid staring, internally chastising herself for allowing her eyes to wander in that direction at all. The butterflies she felt in her stomach at the sight of him stripping down were entirely unwanted and inappropriate.

Still, she couldn’t help but feel eyes on her every once-in-a-while as well. As much as she might have wanted the attraction to be mutual, it wasn’t allowed and she refused to let herself dwell on it as though it was a possibility. Shepard reminded herself of it every time she saw him. Every time.

“I’d like for Adams to get a good look at that artifact. Maybe we can use it to our advantage.”

When she glanced over again at Kaidan, he was already watching her as she pulled the last plate covering her leg free. He nodded and cleared his throat. “Ma’am.”

As the door swished closed behind him, Tali and Shepard continued packing up all of the equipment they’d just finished using. Already, the commander was going over how she would word her report, making sure she wouldn’t forget to mention any pivotal details. Her thoughts were suddenly interrupted by the exclamation of a certain quarian.

“Keelah, I can’t take it anymore! When are you going to tell him?” Her tone was so resolute that Shepard was honestly concerned that she was angry. It was the closest thing to a growl that she’d ever heard emanating from Tali. Shepard straightened in response, not entirely sure what she meant.

“What? I don—“

“The Lieutenant,” came the quarian’s exasperated reply.

“Tell him what?” Shepard suddenly worried that she’d forgotten something important.

“That you love him, of course!”

The commander’s jaw went slack as a flush washed across her skin. She said nothing, but stared at her masked counterpart with an absolutely incredulous expression. “I don’t know what you’re—“

“I may be young, Commander, but I assure you that I’m not oblivious. You’re about half a step away from confessing it all. When are you going to do it?” Her tone had suddenly shifted from irritation to excitement and Shepard wasn’t quite sure what to make of it. The only thing she knew for certain was that she was mortified.

“I’m not. I wouldn’t. I… no.” Shepard had lost all composure. She wasn’t expecting this subject to come up, for it to be so accusatory, nor for it to have originated with Tali. She had no idea what to say or how to refute the rumor. Her mind had gone blank.

“Why not?” It was always difficult to read the quarian’s expression due to her ever-present helmet, but her tone suggested no small amount of disappointment.

The commander sighed heavily, resigning herself to open up just a little on the topic, since it already seemed much less than a secret. “That isn’t appropriate, Tali. There are regulations in place within the Alliance to prevent that sort of thing from happening.”

“Since when do you follow the rules so strictly, Shepard?”

A chuckle was the first response. Tali had a fair point. “Well, I might not, but Kaidan most certainly does.”

“That’s why I said you’d confess first. Wrex thinks it will be the Lieutenant.”

Shepard’s eyes went wide for a moment as she realized the crew had been talking about it. Knowing them, they’d put credits down on the outcome as well. Her heart skipped a beat at the idea that the crew thought he felt the same way and might even say so someday, but she quickly pushed it down to be thoroughly ignored. “I might not play by the rules all the time, but I’d never ask Kaidan to take a risk like that. His life is the Alliance.”

“Not entirely,” Tali answered in something of a sing-song tone, if such a thing could have been accomplished through all the filters and modulators in her suit.

The commander shook her head and willed herself to remain calm and avoid running to her quarters to hide in shame and embarrassment. Instead, she turned her attention back to her gear as she cleaned and stacked it to put it away. “Sorry to disappoint.”

Tali took the hint and began doing the same with her own gear, though there was far less for her to pack away since she wore her suit on a fairly permanent basis. “I used to watch these vids when I was younger. I was always infatuated with the characters getting swept up in a whirlwind of romance. I certainly wasn’t expecting to see it unfolding while on my pilgrimage, of all things. Even though I don’t think this will be what I bring back with me to benefit my people, I can’t help but be excited about it.”

Shepard snorted. Tali was too sweet to draw her ire over making assumptions about her personal life. If she were being honest with herself, she’d gone over the situation with Kaidan about a hundred times a day lately. There was no way she was about to admit it aloud, however. “We have more important things to do, I’m afraid.”

After a long silence passed between the two, Shepard thought she was in the clear. The subject was dropped and they could move on to other, less personal things. That hope was shattered when the quarian brought up another question. “So, there are rules against it? Rules that can’t be broken by a Spectre?”

Shepard rubbed the back of her wrist swiftly across her forehead. She wasn’t sure how to explain this. She shouldn’t have had to, but she did regard Tali as a friend. While she would have told most people to shove their questions somewhere unpleasant, she felt little need to do that now. “I guess… it’s like if you started a relationship with someone on your own ship in the flotilla.”

Tali immediately dropped the clip that had just a moment ago had been occupying her hands and slapped them instead atop her helmet in a clear gesture of alarm. “Keelah! You’re related? I had no idea!”

“No! Oh no.” Shepard laughed. It was a full, loud laugh that helped to ease some of the tension built up in her shoulders. Despite the humiliation, she realized that talking a little about it and laughing were things that she needed to do to make herself feel better. “Okay, that was a bad example. It’s just something you don’t do in the Alliance. Relationships make things complicated and are viewed as a distraction. It’s for the best.”

“Hmm,” Tali said as she picked up the clip and neatly tucked it into place with the rest of her gear. “I still think you’re going to say it first. I want to be there. Will you let me watch?” She was practically bouncing with excitement now.

“What? No.” Shepard couldn’t hide the grin that crept across her face as she watched the quarian get so worked up over something so silly. She understood, though. Sometimes she felt like that when she thought about it, too. Before reality slapped her coldly in the face, anyway.

“But you’ll do it,” Tali responded. “I knew I was right. I’m going to win!”

Shepard’s brow furrowed as she prepared to explain all over again why she couldn’t and wouldn’t make such a bold move with a subordinate, but a familiar voice broke into the conversation before she could say another word. Never had she been so thankful to hear it.

“Commander, we’ve got a message coming in from the Council,” Joker said, seemingly uninterested or unaware of the topic of conversation.

“I’m on my way,” Shepard responded, gratefully accepting the opportunity given to put some distance between herself and the crew for the time being. She needed a bit of time to think.

“And Tali,” Joker added. “You’re gonna have to forfeit if you pressure the commander into confessing first. That’s not how this bet works.”

“Joker!” Best helmsman in the Alliance or not, she was going to pummel him for being involved with this asinine mess.

“Sorry, Commander,” Joker answered, his amusement evident in his tone. “Just trying to keep morale high, you know?”


End file.
